By MACROS | Published on June 20, 2017
Orange, fennel and olive is a classic combination and works perfectly as a punchy accompaniment to roast chicken for a delicious and satisfying dinner.
The folks over at Riverford Organic Farmers have here roasted the fennel for a mellower flavour while the blood orange boasts a sweet, sharp flavour and has wonderful colour variations.
Prep and cook time: 1hr 10mins
Serves 2
You’ll need
2 fennel bulbs
Oil for frying, eg sunflower or light olive
2 chicken legs
100g bulghur wheat
2 blood oranges
60g pitted black olives
1 teaspoon ground fennel
75ml white wine
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
Olive oil
Method
1. Put a large pan of water on to boil. Preheat your oven to 210ËšC/190ËšC fan/gas 6.
2. Wash the fennel. Chop off the stalk tops and, if there are any, keep the bright green feathery fronds on the very top of the stalks; you can use them to garnish the chicken later.
3. Chop the fennel lengthways into 6-8 wedges, depending on size, keeping a little of the root intact in each wedge to hold it together. Once the water is boiling, add the fennel wedges and cook for 5 mins.
4. While the fennel cooks, season the chicken legs with a little salt and pepper. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large frying pan (if you have a wide flame- and ovenproof casserole dish, use that).
5. Fry the chicken, skin side down, until golden brown. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the chicken to a plate.
6. Drain the fennel into a colander, reserving the cooking water. Put the bulghur wheat in the bottom of a large baking dish (or casserole, if using).
7. Slice a thin disc of peel off the top and bottom of each orange to just reveal the segments, then run a sharp knife around to cut off the rest of the peel. Chop the oranges into ¼s.
8. Tuck the drained fennel, orange wedges and olives in amongst the bulghur wheat. Sprinkle over the ground fennel and dried tarragon. Pour in the wine and 300ml of the reserved fennel cooking water.
9. Nestle the chicken on top. Drizzle liberally with oil and season. Bake in the oven for approx 45 mins, until the chicken is cooked through (no pink juices remain – test by inserting a sharp knife into the thickest part; the juices should run clear).
10. Keep an eye on the bulghur now and then as it cooks to check it’s not drying out too much; add a splash more fennel cooking water if needed.
11. Serve the chicken sprinkled with chopped fennel fronds, if there were any on the bulb.
